HN Explorer

Ask HN: How many companies did you apply to until you got that job?

10 points by aherlambang ↗ HN
I am just curious to fellow hackers (software engineers) here, when you were applying for a job, how many companies did you approximately apply in total? How many of that called you for an interview? How many acceptance did you get?

12 comments

[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 41.7 ms ] thread
troels
The last time I applied for a job, I applied to about 10 different companies over a period of a couple of months. I went to interview with three of them. One made me an offer, which I rejected. The second turned me down (Unfortunately, as I liked the place). The third didn't want to hire me into the exact position I applied for, but offered me a different position. At first I rejected, but I called them back 6 months later and took it. This was back in 2008.

I'm not sure if you can use that measure for anything. Your skill set, the job marked in general and your geography are huge factors.

Animus7
Out of college I applied to two of the big companies, got two interviews.

I won't name names, but one seemed slow and disorganized in their hiring process. The other got me through in a couple of weeks and I took the offer.

cao825
Graduated May of 2008 - Sent out 10s of resumes - Two interviews (not a great GPA) - got offers at both - took the slightly lower pay one because it had a better job description and was in a more convenient location. It has worked out very well for me.
aherlambang
Might be a bit off topic, but when did you start applying/sending those resumes?
cao825
Knew I would be graduating in May of '08, so I started sending them out around Jan-Feb of '08 (4-5 months ahead). I got interviews in Feb-March and had my job offers by the end of March.
mcpherrinm
I'm a college student still.

Apply for internships in my first three years, I typically applied to 20~30 companies, and would get 5-10 interviews, leading to 2-5 offers.

In my senior year, (now), I applied to 4 (Google, Mozilla, Facebook, Inkling). Interviewed at all of them, and got two offers and one "come back next year". I hope the one I accepted could potentially lead to a full time position when I graduate next year.

instakill
100 - 200.
aherlambang
now this is a killer, I suspect when someone applies to this many companies it usually means that you're really desperate for a job... so how does it go with applying to 100-200 companies?
a3camero
Or it's the type of job where one candidate looks like another. My guess would be some sort of business position?
abbasmehdi
Or the job is way out of your league and you're just playing the numbers game.
bartonfink
In my career, I've applied for roughly 10 full-time jobs. I got interviews for 6 of them, and each interview got me an acceptance.
skarayan
In my experience, it is easier to find a job while you are in the beginning of your career. This is mostly because you ask for less money and are less specialized. As you get more specialized, you find that you make more money but at the same time you find fewer jobs that match your specialty.